Part gripping tool

ABSTRACT

A component gripping tool including: a pair of claws configured to grip multiple pins or leads of an electronic component; a contact surface provided between the pair of claws and configured to contact a leading end of at least two of the multiple pins or leads being gripped by the pair of claws, wherein an escape section is formed in the contact surface such that the pair of claws and the contact surface do not interfere with each other when the pair of claws is gripping the two multiple pins or leads.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a component gripping tool for grippingan electronic component by closing a pair of claws.

BACKGROUND ART

Known component gripping tools grip an electronic component by closing apair of claws, as described in the following patent literature.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent literature 1: JP-A-60-117039

Patent literature 2: JP-A-60-109830

BRIEF SUMMARY Technical Problem

It is an object of the present disclosure to appropriately grip anelectronic component by closing a pair of claws.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above problem, disclosed herein is a component grippingtool including: a pair of claws configured to grip multiple pins orleads of an electronic component; a contact surface provided between thepair of claws and configured to contact a leading end of at least two ofthe multiple pins or leads being gripped by the pair of claws, whereinan escape section is formed in the contact surface such that the pair ofclaws and the contact surface do not interfere with each other when thepair of claws is gripping the multiple pins or leads.

Advantageous Effects

In the present disclosure, a leading end of at least two pins or leadsof multiple pins or leads being gripped by a pair of claws contacts acontact surface provided between the pair of claws. Further, an escapesection is formed in the contact surface such that the pair of claws andthe contact surface do not interfere with each other while the pair ofclaws is gripping the multiple pins or leads. As a result, interferencebetween the claws and the contact surface is curtailed, and theelectronic component can be gripped appropriately by the closing of thepair of claws.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a component mounter.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a component mounting device of thecomponent mounter.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a component gripping tool of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the component gripping tool of FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing taped components.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional component grippingtool.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the component gripping tool ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the claws of the component grippingtool of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the contact block of the componentgripping tool of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the component gripping tool of FIG.3.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the component gripping tool of FIG.3.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the upper pins of the inclinedelectronic component contacting the contact block.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an alternative contact block.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the upper pins of the inclinedelectronic component contacting the contact block of FIG. 13.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes in detail referring to the figures an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure.

(A) Configuration of Component Mounter

FIG. 1 shows component mounter 10. Component mounter 10 performs work ofmounting components on circuit board 12. Component mounter 10 isprovided with device main body 20, board conveying and holding device22, component mounting device 24, imaging devices 26 and 28, componentsupply device 30, and loose component supply device 32. Note that,examples of circuit board 12 include circuit boards and boards with athree-dimensional construction, examples of a circuit board being aprinted wiring board or a printed circuit board.

Device main body 20 is configured from frame section 40 and beam section42 that is mounted on frame section 40. Board conveying and holdingdevice 22 is positioned centrally inside frame section 40 in thefront-rear direction, and includes conveyance device 50 and clamp device52. Conveyance device 50 conveys circuit board 12, and clamp device 52holds circuit board 12. Thus, board conveying and holding device 22conveys circuit board 12 and fixedly holds circuit board 12 at aspecified position. Note that, in the descriptions below, the conveyancedirection of circuit board 12 is referred to as the X direction, thedirection horizontally perpendicular to the X direction is referred toas the Y direction, and the vertical direction is referred to as the Zdirection. That is, the width direction of component mounter 10 is the Xdirection, and the front-rear direction is the Y direction.

Component mounting device 24 is provided on beam section 42, andincludes work heads 60 and 62 and work head moving device 64. As shownin FIG. 2, component gripping tool 66 is detachably provided on a lowerend surface of working head 60 and 62. Component gripping tool 66includes pair of claws 67, and grips a component by closing the pair ofclaws 67, and releases the gripped component by opening the pair ofclaws. Further, work head moving device 64 includes X-direction movingdevice 68, Y-direction moving device 70, and Z-direction moving device72. Work heads 60 and 62 are moved together to any position on frame 40by X-direction moving device 68 and Y-direction moving device 70. Also,work heads 60 and 62 are detachably attached to sliders 74 and 76respectively, and Z-direction moving device 72 moves sliders 74 and 76in a vertical direction individually. That is, work heads 60 and 62 aremoved in a vertical direction individually by Z-direction moving device72.

Imaging device 26 is attached to slide 74 in a state facing downwards,and is moved in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction togetherwith work head 60. Thus, imaging device 26 images any position on framesection 40. As shown in FIG. 1, imaging device 28 is provided in a statefacing upwards on frame section 40 between board conveying and holdingdevice 22 and component supply device 30. Thus, imaging device 28 imagesa component held by component gripping tool 66 of work heads 60 and 62.

Component supply device 30 is provided at an end of frame section 40 inthe front-rear direction. Component supply device 30 includes tray-typecomponent supply device 78 and feeder-type component supply device (notshown). Tray-type component supply device 78 supplies components in astate arranged in a tray. The feeder-type component supply devicesupplies components via a tape feeder or stick feeder (not shown).

Loose component supply device 32 is provided at the other end of framesection 40 in the front-rear direction. Loose component supply device 32lines up multiple components that are in a scattered state, and suppliesthe components in a lined-up state. That is, this device arrangesmultiple components that have random orientations to have a specifiedorientation and supplies the components in the specified orientation.Note that, components supplied by component supply device 30 and loosecomponent supply device 32 may include electronic components such aselectronic circuit components, configuration components of solar panels,configuration components of power modules, and the like. Also,electronic circuit components include components with leads andcomponents without leads.

(B) Component Mounter Operation

Component mounter 10, according to the above configuration, mountscomponents on circuit board 12 held by board conveying and holdingdevice 22. Specifically, circuit board 12 is conveyed to a workposition, and is fixedly held at that position by clamp device 52. Next,imaging device 26 moves above circuit board 12 and images circuit board12. By this, information related to a holding position error of circuitboard 12 is obtained. Also, component supply device 30 or loosecomponent supply device 32 supplies components at a specified supplyposition. One of the work heads 60 or 62 moves above the componentsupply position and holds a component using component gripping tool 66.Then, work head 60 or 62 holding the component moves above imagingdevice 28, and the component being held by component gripping tool 66 isimaged by imaging device 28. Accordingly, information related to anerror of the holding position of the component is obtained. Continuing,work head 60 or 62 holding the component moves above circuit board 12,and corrects the error in the holding position of circuit board 12 andthe error in the holding position of the component and so on. Then, thecomponent is mounted on circuit board 12 by being released by componentgripping tool 66.

(C) Structure of Component Gripping Tool

As described above, with component mounter 10, component gripping tool66 grips the component by closing the pair of claws 67, and releases thecomponent by opening the pair of claws 67 so as to perform mountingoperation. The electronic component also includes an electroniccomponent, a so-called pin header, having multiple pins extending up andmultiple pins extending down. With such an electronic component, themultiple upwardly extending pins are gripped by component gripping tool66, and the multiple downwardly extending pins are inserted intomultiple through-holes formed in circuit board 12.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, electronic component 80includes a generally block-shaped component main body section 82, threelower pins 84 extending down from the lower surface of component mainbody section 82, and three upper pins 86 extending up from the uppersurface of component main body section 82. Further, the three upper pins86 of electronic component 80 are gripped by pair of claws 67.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, contact block 88 is provided between pairof claws 67, and when the three upper pins 86 are gripped by pair ofclaws 67, the upper ends of the three upper pins 86 contact a lowersurface (hereinafter referred to as “contact surface”) 90 of contactblock 88. That is, when electronic component 80 is gripped by componentgripping tool 66, component gripping tool 66 is lowered until contactsurface 90 of contact block 88 contacts the upper end of upper pin 86,and when the upper end of upper pin 86 contacts contact surface 90, pairof claws 67 close to grip upper pins 86.

Next, when the upper pins 86 have been gripped by pair of claws 67,component gripping tool 66, that is, work head 60 to which componentgripping tool 66 is attached, is moved above circuit board 12 by theoperation of work head moving device 64. Here, operation of work headmoving device 64 is controlled such that through-holes (not shown)formed in circuit board 12 and lower pins 84 of electronic component 80coincide with each other in the XY coordinates, that is, are aligned inthe vertical direction. When work head 60 is lowered, the lower pins 84of electronic component 80 are inserted into the through-holes formed incircuit board 12.

Note that, the outer diameter of lower pins 84 is the same as the innerdiameter of the through-holes, or is slightly larger than the innerdiameter of the through-holes. When electronic component 80 is grippedby component gripping tool 66, the upper ends of the upper pins 86 arein contact with contact surface 90 of contact block 88. Then, with theupper ends of upper pins 86 contacting contact surface 90 of contactblock 88, work head 60 is lowered such that lower pins 84 of electroniccomponent 80 are inserted into the through-holes. As a result, upperpins 86 are pushed in by contact block 88, whereby lower pins 84 arepress-fitted into the through-holes of circuit board 12 such thatelectronic component 80 is mounted on circuit board 12.

However, since electronic component 80 is supplied as a tape component,it may be supplied in an inclined state, and in such cases, electroniccomponent 80 may not be properly gripped by a conventional componentgripping tool. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, taped components 100are configured from carrier tape 106 in which many accommodationrecesses 102 are formed, with electronic components 80 being housed inaccommodation recesses 102. Accommodation recess 102 is slightly longerthan the length dimension of electronic component 80, such thatelectronic component 80 is housed in accommodation recess 102 in a stateextending in a vertical direction.

Further, claws 67 of component gripping tool 66 are inserted into thegaps between upper pins 86 of the electronic component 80 housed inaccommodation recess 102 and the internal walls of accommodation recess102 and upper pins 86 are gripped by the pair of claws 67. Further,since the gripping position of electronic component 80 by componentgripping tool 66 is a specified supply position, each time an electroniccomponent 80 is gripped by component gripping tool 66, carrier tape 106is fed sequentially in the lengthwise direction of carrier tape 106. Asa result, an accommodation recess 102 housing an electronic component 80arrives at the supply position to supply a new electronic component 80.However, as carrier tape 106 is fed, electronic component 80 housed inaccommodation recess 102 may be inclined inside accommodation recess 102as with the electronic component 80 shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5.

Here, conventional component gripping tool 110, similar to withcomponent gripping tool 66, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, includes pair ofclaws 112 and contact block 114 provided between pair of claws 112. Eachof the pair of claws 112 includes gripping sections 116, arm sections118, and slide sections 119. Gripping sections 116 are portions forgripping the three upper pins 86 of electronic component 80. Thus, thedimension of gripping section 116 in the widthwise direction is longerthan the length dimension of the three upper pins 86 in the direction inwhich they are arranged side by side. As a result, the three upper pins86 are gripped together by pair of claws 112. Note that, the lengthdimension in the direction in which the three upper pins 86 are arrangedis the distance between the outsides of the two upper pins 86 located onthe outside at both ends of the three upper pins 86 in the direction inwhich the three upper pins 86 are arranged, which is perpendicular tothe direction in which upper pins 86 extend.

Further, arm section 118 is a portion for holding gripping section 116,and is configured from main arm section 120 and bent section 122. Mainarm section 120 is provided so as to extend vertically, and is connectedto slide section 119 at an upper end portion thereof. Bent section 122continues down from a lower end of main arm section 120. Further, bentsection 122 is bent so as to approach contact block 114 towards thelower end. Gripping section 116 is fixed to the lower end of bentsection 122. That is, arm section 118 is bent toward contact block 114at the lower end, and gripping section 116 is fixed to the lower end ofarm section 118.

Also, slide section 119 is slidably held by main body section 125 ofcomponent gripping tool 110 in the left-right direction, and pair ofclaws 112 slide so as to close and open. Therefore, as slide sections119 slide, pair of claws 112 close such that gripping sections 116 ofpair of claws 112 contact each other. Here, pair of arm sections 118 donot touch due to the bending of bent section 122, and pair of armsections 118 are separated from each other.

Here, the width dimension of arm section 118 is the same as the widthdimension of gripping section 116. Therefore, the width dimension ofclaw 112 is made uniform in the vertical direction, that is, from mainarm section 120 to gripping section 116. Note that, the width dimensionis a dimension in the left-right direction perpendicular to the slidingdirection of claws 112.

Contact block 114 is provided between arm sections 118 of pair of claws112, and the width dimension of contact block 114 is longer than thelength dimension of the three upper pins 86 in the side-by-sidedirection and slightly longer than the width dimension of claws 112.Further, the thickness of contact block 114 is slightly shorter than thedistance between main arm section 120 of pair of arm sections 118 whenpair of claws 112 are closest to each other. Note that, the thicknessdimension is a dimension of claw 112 in the sliding direction. However,the side surface of contact block 114 facing bent section 122 of armsection 118 is formed as tapered surface 126 over the entire widthdirection, and is inclined toward the inside of contact block 88 towardlower surface 128 of contact block 114 (also referred to as “contactsurface”). The taper angle of tapered surface 126 is substantially thesame as the bending angle of bent section 122 of arm section 118.Therefore, when pair of claws 112 are closest to each other, bentsections 122 of arm section 118 and tapered surfaces 126 of contactblock 114 face each other, and contact block 114 is positioned betweenarm sections 118 of pair of claws 112 without interference between armsection 118 and contact block 114.

With such a configuration, the lower end sections of pair of claws 112are inserted into accommodation recess 102 of taped components 100 bylowering work head 60 to which component gripping tool 110 is attachedwhile pair of claws 112 are separated from each other. Here, the lowerends of pair of claws 112 are inserted into accommodation recess 102such that upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 housed inaccommodation recess 102 are positioned between gripping sections 116 ofpair of claws 112. Further, the upper ends of upper pins 86 ofelectronic component 80 contact the contact surface 128 of contact block114 located between pair of claws 112, and upper pins 86 are gripped bygripping sections 116 of pair of claws 112 when the pair of claws 112closes.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, when electronic component 80 is inclinedinside accommodation recess 102, the upper ends of upper pins 86 ofelectronic component 80 inserted between the lower ends of pair of claws112 may not contact the contact surface 128 of contact block 114 and mayenter between contact block 114 and claws 112. In such a case, the upperends of upper pins 86 are caught between tapered surface 126 of contactblock 114 and claw 112, such that pair of claws 112 cannot close, andupper pins 86 cannot be gripped by pair of claws 112.

In view of the above, with component gripping tool 66, as shown in FIG.3, the width dimension of arm section 150 of claw 67 is made narrowerthan the width dimension of gripping section 152, and tapered surface156 (see FIG. 4) is formed only on a portion of the side surface ofcontact block 88 facing arm section 150 in the width direction. Whenpair of claws 67 close, arm sections 150 and tapered surfaces 156 faceeach other to prevent arm sections 150 from interfering with contactblock 88. This allows upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 to begripped by gripping sections 152 without interference between armsections 150 and contact block 88. Further, since tapered surface 156 isformed only in a portion of the side surface of contact block 88 in thewidth direction, the thickness of contact surface 90 of contact block 88is made longer than the distance between the pair of gripping section152 except for the position where tapered surface 156 is formed.Further, the thickest thickness dimension of contact surface 90 is setsuch that at least two upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 contactthe contact surface 90 even if electronic component 80 is supplied in aninclined state. As a result, when upper pins 86 of electronic component80 inclined inside accommodation recess 102 of taped components 100 isgripped by pair of claws 67, the upper ends of at least two upper pins86 contact the contact surface 90 of contact block 88, such that upperpins 86 can be appropriately gripped by pair of claws 67.

Specifically, each of the pair of claws 67 is configured of grippingsection 152, arm section 150, and slide section 158, as shown in FIG. 8.Gripping section 152 is a portion for gripping the three upper pins 86of electronic component 80, and the width dimension of gripping section152 is longer than the length dimension of the three upper pins 86 inthe side-by-side direction, similar to the width dimension of grippingsection 116 of conventional component gripping tool 110.

Further, arm section 150 is a portion for holding gripping section 152,and the width dimension of arm section 150 is about one third of thewidth dimension of gripping section 152. Arm section 150 is configuredfrom main arm section 160 and bent section 162. Main arm section 160 isprovided so as to extend vertically, and is connected to slide section158 at an upper end portion thereof. Bent section 162 continues downfrom a lower end of main arm section 160. Further, as shown in FIG. 4,bent section 162 is bent so as to approach contact block 88 towards thelower end. The lower end of bent section 162 is fixed to a centralsection in the width direction of gripping section 152. That is, armsection 150 is bent toward contact block 88 at the lower end, andgripping section 152 having a width dimension that is about three timesthe width dimension of arm section 150 is fixed to the lower end of armsection 150.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, slide section 158 is held by main bodysection 166 of component gripping tool 66 to be slidable in theleft-right direction such that pair of claws 67 close and open.Therefore, as slide sections 158 slide, pair of claws 67 close such thatgripping sections 152 of pair of claws 67 contact each other. Here, pairof arm sections 150 do not touch due to the bending of bent section 162,and pair of arm sections 150 are separated from each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, contact block 88 is provided betweenarm sections 150 of pair of claws 67. The width dimension of contactblock 88 is slightly longer than the width dimension of gripping section152 (see FIG. 3). In addition, the thickness of contact block 88 isslightly smaller than the distance between main arm sections 160 of thepair of arm sections 150 when the pair of claws 67 come closest to eachother, preventing interference when pair of claws 67 is operated (seeFIG. 4). However, side surface 170 of contact block 88 facing the pairof arm sections 150 is formed as tapered surface 156 in a portion in thewidth direction, and tapered surface 156 of contact block 88 is inclinedtoward the inside of contact block 88 toward contact surface 90 ofcontact block 88.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 9, recess 174 is formed in the center openblock section 172 at which contact surface 90 and side surface 170 ofcontact block 88 intersect. Recess 174 has a shape in which the centerof block section 172 is cut out from contact surface 90 to side surface170, and is formed at a position facing bent section 162 of arm section150. The bottom surface of recess 174 serves as tapered surface 156.Note that, recess 174 is formed on the pair of side surfaces 170 andcontact surface 90 facing the pair of arm sections 150 of contact block88, and the pair of recesses 174 formed on the pair of side surfaces 170are symmetrically shaped.

In this manner, contact block 88 is formed with recesses 174 extendingfrom contact surface 90 to side surface 170 such that contact surface 90is substantially H-shaped. Therefore, a portion of contact surface 90where the recess 174 is formed, that is, a widthwise center section ofcontact surface 90 is concave and has a small thickness dimension. Onthe other hand, a portion of contact surface 90 where recess 174 is notformed, that is, both end portions of contact surface 90 in thewidthwise direction, have a large thickness dimension. That is, contactsurface 90 has first surface 176 having a small thickness dimension atthe center in the width direction and second surface 178 having a largethickness dimension at both ends in the width direction. Note that, thethickness dimension of second surface 178 is made longer than thedistance between the pair of gripping sections 152 when the pair ofclaws 67 are furthest separated from each other. Also, first surface 176and second surface 178 are a single continuous surface.

Further, the bottom surface of recess 174, that is, the taper angle oftapered surface 156 is substantially the same as the bending angle ofbent section 162 of arm section 150. Also, the width dimension of recess174 is slightly larger than the width dimension of bent section 162.Thus, when pair of claws 67 close, bent section 162 of arm section 150enters recess 174 of contact block 88, as shown in FIG. 3. In thismanner, contact block 88 is provided between arm section 150 of pair ofclaws 67 without interference occurring between arm section 150 andcontact block 88.

With such a configuration, the lower end sections of pair of claws 67are inserted into accommodation recess 102 of taped components 100 bylowering work head 60 to which component gripping tool 66 is attachedwhile pair of claws 67 are separated from each other. Here, the lowerends of pair of claws 67 are inserted into accommodation recess 102 suchthat upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 housed in accommodationrecess 102 are positioned between gripping sections 152 of pair of claws67. Then, in accordance with the lowering of component gripping tool 66,the upper ends of the three upper pins 86 of electronic component 80contact the contact surface 90 of contact block 88 positioned betweenpair of claws 67. Here, the upper pin 86 in the center of the threeupper pins 86 contacts first surface 176 of contact surface 90, and theupper pins 86 at both ends of the three upper pins 86 contact secondsurface 178 of contact surface 90. Further, by closing pair of claws 67,the three upper pins 86 are gripped by gripping sections 116 of pair ofclaws 67.

In addition, even when electronic component 80 is inclined insideaccommodation recess 102, upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 canbe properly gripped by component gripping tool 66. In detail, as shownin FIGS. 11 and 12, when electronic component 80 is inclined insideaccommodation recess 102, the upper pin 86 in the central of the threeupper pins 86 of electronic component 80 inserted between the lower endsof pair of claws 67 does not contact first surface 176 of contactsurface 90 of contact block 88. Note that, in FIG. 12, taped components100, claws 67, and the like are omitted.

On the other hand, of the three upper pins 86 of electronic component 80inserted between the lower ends of pair of claws 67, the upper pins 86at both ends contact second surface 178 of contact surface 90 of contactblock 88. In particular, since the thickness of second surface 178 islarger than the distance between pair of gripping sections 152 when pairof claws 67 are furthest separated from each other, the upper pins 86 atboth ends contact second surface 178 even when electronic component 80is inclined by a large amount. Therefore, the upper end of the upper pin86 of the three upper pins 86, which is not in contact with contactsurface 90, does not enter inside recess 174.

When pair of claws 67 close with the upper pins 86 at both ends of thethree upper pins 86 that determine the length dimension of the upperpins 86 in the side-by-side direction contact the contact surface 90 ofcontact block 88, the three upper pins 86 are pushed by gripping section152 of claw 67 to swing. This corrects the incline of electroniccomponent 80 such that the three upper pins 86 contact the contactsurface 90 of contact block 88. In other words, the upper pin 86 in thecenter of the three upper pins 86 contacts first surface 176 of contactsurface 90, and the upper pins 86 at both ends of the three upper pins86 contact second surface 178 of contact surface 90. Further, by closingpair of claws 67, the three upper pins 86 are gripped by grippingsections 152 of pair of claws 67. Thus, with component gripping tool 66,even when electronic component 80 is inclined inside accommodationrecess 102, the upper pins 86 of electronic component 80 can be grippedby gripping sections 152 while contacting contact surface 90.

Note that, component gripping tool 66 is an example of a componentgripping tool. Claw 67 is an example of a claw. Electronic component 80is an example of an electronic component. Upper pin 86 is an example ofa pin or lead. Contact surface 90 is an example of a contact surface.Recess 174 is an example of an escape section and a recess.

Further, the present disclosure is not limited to the above exampleembodiments, and various changed or improved methods of embodiment arepossible based on the knowledge of someone skilled in the art.Specifically, for example, in an embodiment described above, firstsurface 176 and second surface 178 are a single continuous surface oncontact surface 90 of contact block 88, but the contact surface may be asurface which is not a single continuous, that is, may be anon-continuous surface. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, recess 204 isformed on the bottom surface of contact block 200, that is, on contactsurface 202. Recess 204 is cut out from contact surface 202 to pair ofside surfaces 206. In other words, contact surface 202 of contact block200 is divided by the recess at a center section in the width direction,and is formed into two third surfaces 208. When contact block 200 havingsuch a structure is used, if electronic component 80 is inclined asshown in FIG. 14, the upper pins 86 at both ends of the three upper pins86 abut against contact surface 202, that is, third surfaces 208. As aresult, for a component gripping tool provided with contact block 200, asimilar effect as that of component gripping tool 66 described above canbe achieved. Note that, with a component gripping tool provided withcontact block 200, the upper pins 86 at both ends of the three upperpins 86, that is, two upper pins 86, contact the contact surface 202.

Further, in an embodiment described above, the disclosure is applied toelectronic component 80 having lower pins 84 and upper pins 86, however,the disclosure may be applied to various types of components so long asthey have upper pins 86. That is, the present disclosure can be appliedto an electronic component having multiple pins which are gripped bypair of claws 67 of component gripping tool 66. Note that, it is easy toapply the present disclosure in various modes in which two or more upperpins of an electronic component having multiple upper pins are broughtinto contact with a contact surface. For example, two or more upper pinsof an electronic component having multiple upper pins that contact acontact surface may be selected asymmetrically, and the contact surfacemay be asymmetrically shaped. Similarly, it is not necessary to grip allthe upper pins, and the upper pins to be gripped may be selectedasymmetrically. In addition, the length of the dimension in which theupper pins are lined up side by side may exceed the widthwise dimensionof the gripping section of the claw or the contact surface. In otherwords, there may be no relationship between the upper pins gripped bythe gripping section and the upper pins contacting the contact surface.

Note that, since contact block 88 of an embodiment described above is aconsumable part, one portion of component holding tool 66 may beconfigured to be exchangeable, or main body section 166 that makes upthe main body of component holding tool 66 may be configured integrallywith contact block 88.

Further, the present disclosure may also be applied to an electroniccomponent accommodated in a tray having multiple cavities formed frommultiple accommodation recesses, an electronic component supplied in aninclined state, or the like.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

-   66: component gripping tool;-   67: claw;-   80: electronic component;-   86: upper pin (pin) (lead);-   90: contacting surface;-   174: recess (escape section);-   202: contacting surface;-   204: recess (escape section)

1. A component gripping tool comprising: a pair of claws configured togrip multiple pins or leads of an electronic component; a contactsurface provided between the pair of claws and configured to contact aleading end of at least two of the multiple pins or leads being grippedby the pair of claws, wherein an escape section is formed in the contactsurface such that the pair of claws and the contact surface do notinterfere with each other when the pair of claws is gripping themultiple pins or leads.
 2. The component gripping tool according toclaim 1, wherein the contact surface is a single continuous surface. 3.The component gripping tool according to claim 2, wherein the escapesection is configured from a pair of recesses formed at an edge sectionof the contact surface facing the pair of claws, and the pair ofrecesses is formed in a symmetrical manner.
 4. The component grippingtool according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface is not a singlecontinuous surface.